Uni-flex tooth rest and support



Aug. 27, 1957 w, FRENCH 2,803,929

UNI-FLEX TOOTH REST AND SUPPORT Filed May 7. 1956 v 2 Shees-Sheet 1 iiiiiiij iiii"""i 3 @m INVENTOR.

WARREN'F. FRENCH IO y g- 1957 w. F. FRENCH 2,803,929

UNI-FLEX TOOTH REST AND SUPPORT Filed May '7, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 39 INVENTOR.

WARREN F. FRENCH BY Y ATTORNEY @nii-Q UNI-FLEX TUGTH REST AND SUPPQRT Application May '7, 1956, Serial No. 583,071

6 Claims. (Cl. 51-238) This invention relates to improvements in tooth rests for cutter grinders.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved tooth rest of the flexible spring blade type especially suited for engaging and supporting successively the end teeth of milling cutters, Woodruff keyseat cutters having straight teeth, as well as for use in supporting and guiding successively the cutting edges of the peripheral teeth and corner charnfers on chucking rearners and shell end mills having teeth that are either right hand or left hand cutting, whereby the cutting edges of said teeth of such tools will be supported in succession in a predetermined relation to the grinding surface of a grinding wheel during grinding of a tooth by the grinding wheel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tooth rest having a flat flexible spring blade type of tooth support which can partake of flexing or springing movement only in one direction during indexing of the cutter teeth regardless of the contour and the rake angle of the teeth of the cutter being ground or sharpened.

According to the invention, the tooth rest comprises a detachable, flat, flexible spring blade element which is slotted transversely inwardly from one of its end edges to provide a strip-like mounting portion integral with an adjacent strip-like tooth-engaging finger portion which can flex independently of said mounting strip portion. Clamping means co-linear with the blade and overlying the mounting strip portion thereof including the slot is provided for fixedly holding this tooth rest blade element by its mounting strip portion to a flat vertical surface of a rigid arm extension at one end of an elongated support member, in which said clamping means is so constructed and arranged that it functions also as a detent which allows the flexible tooth-engaging finger strip portion of the blade to flex or spring only in one direction during indexing of the cutter teeth to engage a tooth with the tooth-supporting part of the blade for a grinding operation. This improved tooth rest blade structure is embodied in several different forms of elongated support members each of which is provided with a perfectly fiat horizontal surface for mounting the support member on a machine element having a corresponding fiat horizontal surface in contact therewith and an opposite parallel flat surface to be engaged against a perfectly flat horizontal reference surface located in an offset position on'the work supporting head of a cutter grinder and lying in the same horizontal plane containing the centerline of the work support and the longitudinal axis of the cutter to be ground. i

in each of the mounting arrangements of the tooth rest blade on the different forms of elongated support members, the operating edge of the flexible tooth-engaging finger portion of the blade element is positioned so that it terminates in a predetermined fixed relationship to the flat horizontal mounting surface of the associated elongated support member, and consequently thereby will be automatically aligned on the exact centerline of the work spindle by reason of the flat horizontal reference s Patent ice surface of the work supporting head of the machine. Therefore, the only adjustment required in positioning my tooth rest is simply one of setting the tooth engaging edge of the spring finger portion of the blade slightly in back of the cutting edge of a particular cutter tooth to be ground, and then locking it in place by tightening up two cap screws or the like, one of which attaches the tooth rest support member to the end of the above-mentioned machine element, such as a cross arm, and. the other of which attaches the latter to the fixed offset flat reference surface of the work supporting head. The tooth rest finger coacting with successive cutter teeth then form the ratchet action for indexing.

For a better understanding of the above and other objects of the invention reference is made to the following detailed deescription and the accompanying drawings of several preferred embodiments of the: invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a pictorial view showing one form of my uni-flex tooth rest and support constructed according to my invention in use when grinding the corner chamfers on a shell end mill having teeth that are left hand cutting; the work head being swiveled to the desired chamfer angle, usually 45 Fig. 2 is a pictorial view showing a second form of my uni-flex tooth rest and support embodying my invention in use when grinding the cutting edges of the peripheral teeth of a side milling cutter;

Fig. 3 is a pictorial View showing a third form of my uni-flex tooth rest and support embodying my invention in use when grinding th corner chamfers of a chucking reainer with the work head being swiveled to the desired charnfer angle, usually 45; and

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views respectively of the different forms of uni-flex tooth rest and support structures shown in operating position in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Fig. 7 is a typical plan view of the blade and support;

Fig. 8 shows the blade per se; and

Fig. 9 represents the spring action of the blade.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1, for the purposes ofillustration only of the invention, parts of a grinding machine the structural features of which conform in general to the cutter grinding machine shown in my copending application, Serial No. 470,207, filed November 22, 1954, now Patent No. 2,787,094, granted April 2, 1957, and comprises a slidable table it upon which is mounted a turntable ll. that carries a swiveled indexible work support 12.

A grinding wheel 13 of the cup type is rotatably mounted on a grinding wheel head 14 which is carried by an arcuate slide (not shown) that is capable of vertical and angular adjustment on the machine base relative to the work table it The grinding wheel 13 is driven by any suitable source of power (not shown) and has an annular convexed end grinding surface 15 which, preferably, is of approximately semi-circular contour transversely of its rim. The top of the grinding wheel 13 is protected by a suitable guard member 16.

The table It) is adapted to be reciprocated longitudinally past the annular end grinding surface 15 of the grinding wheel 13 by manual propulsion. The table it is slidably supported upon a suitable cross-slide (not shown) which is arranged to be manually traversed by suitable mechanism (not shown) toward and away from the grinding wheel 13. Appropriate angular adjustment of the grinding wheel head 14 tilts the grinding wheel 13 to obliquely incline its grinding surface 15 so as to grind the proper clearance angles on the cutter teeth being sharpened.

The swiveled work support 12 incorporates a collet 18,

(see Fig. 3) which is mounted in an indexible sleeve 19 and receives and supports either the shank of a chucking reamer Zll, as shown in Fig. 3, or a mandrel 21 (see Fig;

2.) on which is rotatably mounted and secured either a side milling cutter 22, as shown in Fig. 2, or a shell end mill 23 having helically fluted teeth, as shown in Fig. 1.

The work support 12 is formed at its rear with an offset flange 25 provided with a perfectly flat horizontal top reference surface 26 which is aligned exactly with the centerline of the work support and lies in the same horizontal plane that passes through and contains the centerline of the work support and the longitudinal axis of a cutting tool to be supported thereon.

A bar-like cross arm member 27 provided with an elongated slot 28 is adjustably mounted by means of a bolt 29 upon the offset flange 25 of the work support 12. The cross arm member 27 is intended to support at its outer end proximate to the grinding wheel 13 any of the different types of tooth rests as illustrated in Figs. 4, and 6, the tooth rest blade structure in these instances consisting of a detachable, flat, generally rectangular flexible spring blade element 30, as shown in Fig. 8, which is slotted, as at 31, transversely inwardly from one of its end edges 32 to provide a strip-like mounting portion 33 integral with an adjacent strip-like tooth-em gaging finger portion 34 which can flex or spring independently of the associated mounting strip portion 33.

The tooth rest blade element 34} is clamped by means of a strip-like plate 35 and a series of shouldered clamping bolts 36 against a suitable flat vertical surface of a rigid arm extension 37 which may either extend downwardly or upright, as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, from the elongated body portion or shank 38 of the support member 45). When thus mounted, the tooth rest 30 is aflixed by its mounting strip portion 33 to said arm extension 37 and projects laterally thereof with its free exposed finger portion 34 forming a tooth support. The plate 35, when thus-assembled and clamped in place, is substantially co-linear with the mounting strip portion 33 of the blade and transversely overlies said mounting strip portion including the slot to form a detent to prevent or restrain flexing or springing movement of the exposed finger portion 34 toward the detent yet allowing said finger portion to flex freely in a direction away from said detent during indexing of the cutter teeth. In use of this tooth rest, the detent plate 35 normally faces the cutter being ground. As illustrated in Fig. 8, the mounting strip portion 33 of the blade element 39 is provided with a series of spaced holes 39 which are to register with correspondingly spaced holes in the clamping plate 35 for passage of the threaded shanks of the clamping bolts 36 which secure the blade and the clamping plate 35 to the arm extension 37.

The shank portions 38 of the support members 40 of these tooth rests are provided with a series of threaded holes 41 by means of which the spring member 40 carrying the tooth rest blade may be adjustably attached by means of a suitable cap screw 42 to the cross arm member 27 in proper relation for supporting the cutter teeth during grinding. The cross arm member 27 is provided with perfectly flat horizontal top and bottom surfaces 50 and 51 which are disposed in exact parallelism to permit their use as reference mounting surfaces.

In the Figs. 4 and 5 types of support members 40, each of the shanks 38 thereof is provided with a perfectly flat top surface 52 respectively adapted to engage against and be attached to the perfectly flat bottom surface of the cross arm 27, while the shank 38 of the Fig. 6 type of support member 40 has its bottom face formed with a perfectly flat surface 53 for being engaged against the perfectly fiat top surface 50 of the cross arm 27 when the tooth rest is attached thereto.

In the Figs. 4 and 5 tooth rest arrangements, the top edge of the tooth rest blade 30 when appliedto its associated support member 40 is exactly aligned and flush with the flat top surface 52 of the shank, while in the Fig. 6 tooth rest arrangement, the tooth rest blade 30 is inverted and the tooth-engaging edge 32 thereof projects vertically downwardly beyond the plane of the flat bottom surface 53 of the shank of the support member 40 for a distance exactly equal to the thickness of the cross arm 27, so as to terminate at a position which will be exactly in alignment with the fiat bottom surface 51 of the cross arm. It thus will be seen in all these tooth rest types that the tooth-engaging edge of the tooth rest blade will be automatically aligned on the exact centerline of the work spindle and the lingitudinal axis of the cutter by reason of the respective flat reference surfaces 26, 5t), 51, 52 and 53, as the case may be.

In Fig. 1, the tooth rest having the uniflex blade structure of my invention carried by the type of support member 40 shown in Fig. 6, is illustrated in proper relation to the cutting edge of a tooth when in use during grinding the corner chamfers of a shell end mill 23 and helically fluted teeth that are left hand cutting and in which the work head 12 is illustrated as being swiveled on the table 10 to the desired chamfer angle which is usually In Fig. 2, the tooth rest having the uni-flex blade structure of my invention carried by the type of support member 40 shown in Fig. 4, is illustrated in proper relation to the cutting edge of the tooth T when in use during grinding the cutting edges of the peripheral teeth of a side milling cutter 22.

In Fig. 3, the tooth rest having the uni-flex blade structure of my invention carried by the type of support member 40 shown in Fig. 5, is illustrated in proper relation to the cutting edge of a tooth T when in use during grinding of the corner chamfers of a chucking reamer 20, with the Work head 12 illustrated as being swiveled on the table 10 to the desired chamfer angle which is usually 45.

In use, each arrangement of tooth rests shown mounted on the various types of mountings as depicted in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, function alike so that the description of one will suflice for the others. Thus, in Fig. 9, the flexible toothengaging finger strip 34 of the blade 30 is positioned under and in back of the cutting edge of a particular tooth T required to be ground, and after the cutting edge of this tooth has been ground the cutter can be turned so as to bring another tooth up to rest on the blade for grinding. During this upward movement of the tooth the spring finger 34 will be pressed or pushed out to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 9 and will spring back again as soon as the tooth has been raised high enough to allow it to do so, and then will act as .a supporting rest for that tooth while its peripheral cutting edge is being ground. This is continued until all the teeth of the cutter have been ground.

While I have shown and specifically described the invention, this is by way of illustration only and I intend that all such modifications in construction as fairly fall Within the scope of the appended claims be included within the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tooth rest for cutter grinders, a support member having an extension at one end, a flexible spring blade element slotted inwardly from one end edge to form a mounting strip portion integral with a tooth-engaging strip portion at one side, said blade being affixed by said mounting strip portion to said extension so as to project laterally thereof and form a tooth support, and means co-linear with said blade and transversely overlying the mounting strip portion thereof including the slot to form a detent for preventing flexing movement of the exposed portion of the blade toward the detent yet allowing said exposed portion of the blade to flex freely in a direction away from said detentduring indexing of a cutter to engage a tooth with said tooth-engaging strip portion of the blade for a grinding operation.

2. In a tooth rest for cutter grinders an elongated support member having a vertical extension at one end, a flat'fle'xible spring bla'de element slotted inwardly from one end edge to form a mounting strip portion integral with a tooth-engaging strip portion at one side, said blade being attached by said mounting strip portion to said extension so as to project laterally thereof and form a tooth support, and means co-linear with said blade and transversely overlying the mounting strip portion thereof including the slot to form a detent for preventing flexing movement of the exposed portion of the blade toward the detent yet allowing said exposed portion of the blade to flex freely in a direction away from said detent during indexing of a cutter to engage a tooth with said toothengaging strip portion of the blade for a grinding operation.

3. In a tooth rest for cutter grinders as claimed in claim 1, the structure therein recited being further characterized by the detent means consisting of a clamping plate which is detachably secured to the extension of said support member.

4. In a tooth rest for cutter grinders as claimed in claim 1, the structure therein recited being further characterized by the support member being provided with a perfectly flat horizontal surface for mounting the support member on a machine element having a correspondingly fiat surface in contact therewith, and in which the operating edge of said tooth-engaging strip portion of the blade bears a predetermined fixed relationship to said mounting surface of the support member.

5. In a tooth rest for cutter grinders as claimed in claim 2, the structure therein recited being further characterized by the support member being provided with a perfectly flat horizontal surface for mounting the support member on a machine element having a correspondingly flat surface in contact therewith, and in which the operating edge of said tooth-engaging strip portion of the blade bears a predetermined fixed relationship to said mounting surface of the support member.

6. In a tooth rest for cutter grinders as claimed in claim 1, the structure therein recited being further characterized by the support member being provided with a perfectly flat horizontal surface for mounting the support member on a machine element having a correspondingly flat surface in contact therewith, and in which the operating edge of said tooth-engaging strip portion of said blade is exactly aligned horizontally with said mounting surface of the support member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,291,196 Stone July 28, 1942 

